In the field of communications, the need for high-speed transmission of data including video and audio has continued to increase. Moreover, there has been an increase in the selection of services by which users can connect to a network, such as the Internet. Specifically, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) may allow for connectivity to the Internet through lower-speed connections at different rates, such as 56 kilobits/second, by employing a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) line. Other choices for connection, which are at higher speeds, into a network can include Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service (both using a POTS line), and cable modem service over a Radio Frequency (RF) cable line.
Current approaches for network connectivity for certain connection services (including cable modem service) are such that a group of subscribers are pooled together and treated as an individual entity. Such an approach does not allow for individualized accounting and/or usage tracking for different subscribers connecting to the network. In contrast, other techniques (including DSL service) do allow for individualized treatment of subscribers. Disadvantageously, these techniques require specialized software and/or hardware to be executing on the individual subscriber/client machines to allow for this individualized approach. In particular, DSL service provides for this individualized treatment by using software and/or hardware that allows for the Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) protocol. Accordingly, the costs of such services are increased to account for this additional software and/or hardware.